Paphos man remanded for barber shop arson
A 24-year-old man was remanded in custody for four days on Saturday, suspected of having set fire to a barber shop.
The fire had broken out at 10.30pm on Thursday in a barber shop owned by a Syrian national, and while the fire brigade rushed to the scene and prevented it from spreading to neighbouring properties, the shop was completely destroyed.
Paphos police’s assistant operations director Michalis Nikolaou had said on Friday it appeared the fire had been “started maliciously”, but moved to clarify to the Cyprus Mail that it was not believed there was any racial motivation involved, but rather “personal differences”.
On Friday and Saturday, people of Syrian origin in Paphos have been working voluntarily to repair the damage caused by the fire and begin to restore the barber shop to its former glory.